Perfect Game (Clam)

There are far too many prototypes: the not-so good team coached by a washed-up ex-minor league player, the "evil" coach who has won a string of championships that wants to "rule" the baseball league with another title, the "heart-broken" kid who wants to win for Dad, the mom who wants the best for her little boy, the rise and fall of the "lovable loser" type team, etc. It seems to all be a bunch of one-dimensional and predictable characters that begin to work each and every baseball clich.

I agree with the reviewer, Brett, who mentioned the flawed logic of this movie. It's hard to exactly know what the message of this movie is. Do the parents want their team to win? Do they want their kids to practice, not to practice? Why do they want them to quit a game that is a passion just because some coach tells them they aren't good enough? The naivety of this movie excels all baseball movies I've seen. Couldn't they put a little more thought into some of these characters?

The slight positive to this movie were the few chuckles that were there. Ed Asner does a decent job as the ex-minor league player turned coach, and has a few good lines:
"Baseball is spelled F-U-N-D-A-M-E-N-T-L-E" ..

"Can you spell irritating, kid?"

However, overall, the lines and the action aren't fun, but rather superficial, and it's ending left me, well, confused (kind of like they just said, "Let's stop the movie right here."). A movie that could have been much more, but failed miserably.

Even if it is just suppose to be a fun movie, Perfect Game doesn't even come across as a true kids movie. I would suggest that if you want a kid's movie with a little more spirit, rent "The Rookie" instead. If you are wanting a good baseball movie period, see "The Natural" or "Field of Dreams."


Couldn't be more predictable if it tried.   December 1, 2003
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

Would it have killed the makers of this movie to even attempt to do something worthwhile? This is a kids' baseball movie that has been done too many times already.

The setup: The "evil" coach Bobby Geiser (Patrick Duffy) has won eight consecutive local Little League Championships and all the other coaches are jealous of him. In order to try and even the playing field, Geiser agrees to allow a lot of kids who aren't very good at baseball to be on his team. Our hero, 10 year old Kanin, is going to be on Coach Geiser's team this year. So what's the problem? To be honest, I'm really not sure. The kids' parents flip out when they find out that the coach has been holding extra practices for his good players in order to make sure they stay sharp.

This is where the movie nosedives even further. The parents decide to get rid of the coach and all of the good players on their team. Then they tell their kids that they should just cancel the rest of their season and not even play anymore. It's twisted logic which I can't understand. Why make your kids stop playing a sport they love simply because the coach was holding extra practices? Just goes to show you how parents are ruining youth sports programs these days...even in the movies!

Anyway, I won't spoil how things turn out but I need to get one more gripe off of my chest. In several scenes, the baseball used during the games is not real. It is an extremely poor computer special effect. Has the film industry sunk so low that they can't have a baseball movie using a real baseball? Why use CGI when you don't even have to? This movie has no soul.


memories   December 12, 2000
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

reminiscent of the Kenny Roger's hit "The Greatest". Superb acting by young Cameron Finley (Kanin) as he struggles to become a great ball player like his dad. A movie that will surely bring back Little League memories, whether as a player, parent of coach. Great family film for young and old alike.


A Great Family Film!   April 21, 2000
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

There are all too few movies around that we can take the kids to. And many of them are tough for adults to sit through. Thankfully, this one is a gem. Ed Asner is charming as always and Patrick Duffy makes a great bad guy. But the kids are the stars of this story of a young boy who just wants to be one of the team. Don't miss this one. It'll make a great addtion to the kids' video library.